Ice maker and refrigerator having the same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are an ice maker and a refrigerator having the same. The refrigerator includes a storage compartment, a storage compartment door for opening/closing the storage compartment, and an ice maker including an ice making tray for producing pieces of ice, and a water dispense cup for dispensing water supplied from a water supply pipe to the ice making tray. A water guide section is formed in the water dispense cup to guide the water, which is supplied from the water supply pipe, to a region below the water supply pipe so that ice pieces are prevented from being accumulated in the water dispense cup.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2008-0055627 filed on Jun. 13, 2008, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference, and this application claims the priority benefit ofKorean Application No. 10-2008-0076040 filed on Aug. 4, 2008, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to an ice maker of a refrigerator. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a water dispense cup fordispensing water to an ice making tray having ice making cells forproducing pieces of ice.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a refrigerator includes a body having a refrigeratingcompartment and a freezing compartment. A compressor and a heatexchanger are installed at a rear portion of the body to compressrefrigerant and to produce cold air, respectively. The cold air producedby the heat exchanger is introduced into the refrigerating compartmentor the freezing compartment by a fan and the temperature of cold air mayrise while circulating through the refrigerating compartment or thefreezing compartment. Then, the air having the high temperature isheat-exchanged through the heat exchanger, so that the cold air can beintroduced again into the refrigerating compartment or the freezingcompartment, thereby keeping foodstuffs stored in the refrigeratingcompartment or the freezing compartment in a fresh state.

An ice maker is installed in the freezing compartment of therefrigerator and water is automatically dispensed to an ice making trayof the ice maker. If the water is frozen into pieces of ice, the icepieces are automatically separated from the ice making tray and arestored in an ice storage container. Thus, users can obtain the icepieces without additionally controlling the refrigerator to make piecesof ice, so that the ice maker is extensively used in these days.

The ice maker receives the water from a water dispense cup. The waterdispense cup is made from plastic material and is coupled with the icemaking tray. The water dispense cup is formed with a water path fordispensing the water to the ice making tray. In addition, water issupplied to the water dispense cup through a water supply pipe, which isdisposed above the water dispense cup and connected to a water source atthe outside of the refrigerator.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide an icemaker of a refrigerator.

Additional aspects, features, and/or advantages of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will beapparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of theinvention.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided arefrigerator including a storage compartment, a storage compartment doorto open/close the storage compartment, and an ice maker including an icemaking tray to produce ice pieces, and a water dispense cup to dispensewater supplied from a water supply pipe to the ice making tray, whereina water guide section is formed in the water dispense cup to guide thewater, which is supplied from the water supply pipe, to a region belowthe water supply pipe.

The ice maker further includes a heater to heat the ice making tray.

The ice making tray and the water dispense cup include metal havingsuperior heat conductivity.

The ice making tray is integrally formed with the water dispense cup.

The ice maker heats the water dispense cup by using heat of the heaterthat is operated when ice pieces are separated from the ice making tray.

The water guide section includes a first inclination surface, which isinclined to guide the water supplied from the water supply pipe towardthe region below the water supply pipe, and a second inclinationsurface, which is inclined to allow the water introduced through thefirst inclination surface to be directed to a water outlet port of thewater dispense cup.

The water guide section may include a first inclination surface, whichis inclined to guide the water supplied from the water supply pipetoward the region below the water supply pipe, a second inclinationsurface, which is inclined to allow the water introduced through thefirst inclination surface to be directed toward a communication path,and third inclination surface, which is inclined from a rear portion ofthe water dispense cup toward a water outlet port of the water dispensecup to allow water supplied to the second inclination surface to bedirected toward the water outlet port of the water dispense cup.

According to another aspect, there is provided an ice maker including anice making tray to produce ice pieces, and a water dispense cup todispense water to the ice making tray, wherein a water guide section isformed in the water dispense cup to guide the water, which is suppliedfrom a water supply pipe, to a region below the water supply pipe.

The ice maker further includes a heater for heating the ice making tray.

The ice making tray and the water dispense cup include metal havingsuperior heat conductivity and the ice making tray is integrally formedwith the water dispense cup.

The water guide section includes a first inclination surface, which isinclined to guide the water supplied from the water supply pipe towardthe region below the water supply pipe, and a second inclinationsurface, which is inclined to allow the water introduced through thefirst inclination surface to be directed to a water outlet port of thewater dispense cup.

The ice maker heats the water dispense cup by using heat of the heaterthat is operated when ice pieces are separated from the ice making tray.

The water guide section may include a first inclination surface, whichis inclined to guide the water supplied from the water supply pipetoward the region below the water supply pipe, a second inclinationsurface, which is inclined to allow the water introduced through thefirst inclination surface to be directed toward a communication path,and third inclination surface, which is inclined from a rear portion ofthe water dispense cup toward a water outlet port of the water dispensecup to allow water supplied to the second inclination surface to bedirected toward the water outlet port of the water dispense cup.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a refrigerator including a storage compartment, a storagecompartment door to open/close the storage compartment, a water supplypipe protruding from the storage compartment door, and an ice makerincluding an ice making tray including metal having superior heatconductivity, a heater to heat the ice making tray, and a water dispensecup to dispense water supplied from the water supply pipe to the icemaking tray, wherein the water dispense cup includes metal havingsuperior heat conductivity, and a water guide section is formed in thewater dispense cup to guide the water, which is supplied from the watersupply pipe, to a region below the water supply pipe.

The ice making tray is integrally formed with the water dispense cup.

The water guide section may include a first inclination surface, whichis inclined to guide the water supplied from the water supply pipetoward the region below the water supply pipe, a second inclinationsurface, which is inclined to allow the water introduced through thefirst inclination surface to be directed toward a communication path,and third inclination surface, which is inclined from a rear portion ofthe water dispense cup toward a water outlet port of the water dispensecup to allow water supplied to the second inclination surface to bedirected toward the water outlet port of the water dispense cup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects, features, and advantages of the inventionwill become apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a refrigeratoraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an ice makeraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a water dispense cup ofan ice maker according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a water dispense cup of an ice makeraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a lower portion of a water dispensecup of an ice maker according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing an ice makeraccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a water dispense cup according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements.Exemplary embodiments are described below to explain the presentinvention by referring to the figures.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide an ice maker anda refrigerator having the same, capable of preventing ice or pieces ofice from being accumulated in a water dispense cup due to the drop ofwater remaining in a water supply pipe into the water dispense cup afterthe water has been supplied into the ice maker.

Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention includes a refrigerator body 10 having astorage compartment 11 therein. A front part of the refrigerator body 10is open. The storage compartment 11 formed in the refrigerator body 10is divided into a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartmentby an intermediate wall 13.

In addition, a storage compartment door 30 is installed at the frontpart of the refrigerator body 10 to open/close the storage compartment11.

A pair of liners 32 are longitudinally installed at both sides of theinner wall of the storage compartment door 30 such that a plurality ofdoor guards 33 can be installed between the liners 32 to storefoodstuffs.

An ice maker 100 is installed between a pair of liners 32, which areprovided at an upper portion of the storage compartment door 30, inorder to make pieces of ice. An ice storage container 60 is positionedbelow the ice maker 100. The ice pieces made by the ice maker 100 aredropped into the ice storage container 60 and then transferred to adispenser (not shown) by an ice convey device.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice maker 100 includes an ice making tray 110for producing the ice pieces. The ice making tray 110 is made from ametal having superior heat conductivity, such as aluminum, and has asemi-circular cylindrical shape having a semi-circular section.

Ice making cells 112 having semi-circular shapes are provided betweenpartition walls 111 provided in the ice making container 110. Watersupplied to the ice making cell 112 is introduced into adjacent icemaking cells 112 through a water path 111 a.

An ejector 120 is provided at an upper portion of the partition walls111. The ejector 120 includes a plurality of scrapers 123, which areprovided on a rotating shaft 121 while being spaced apart from eachother by a predetermined distance in order to discharge the ice piecesfrom each ice making cell 112.

A heater 130 is installed below the ice making tray 110. The heater 130heats the bottom surface of the ice making tray 110 such that the icepieces can be easily separated from the ice making cells 112 by theejector 120.

The heater 130 may include an electric heating medium that generatesheat upon receiving electric power or the like. The heater 130 heats thebottom surface of the ice making tray 110 before the ejector 120 isoperated, so that the ice pieces can be easily separated from the icemaking tray 110 by the ejector 120.

A tray cover 150 is installed in front of the ice making tray 110. Thetray cover 150 includes an ice guide 151 for guiding the ice piecesdischarged by the ejector 120 into the ice storage container 60 and alevel protector 153 for protecting an ice detection lever 140. The leverprotector 153 is formed with perforation holes 154 to allow cold air topass therethrough.

A water dispense cup 200 is provided at one side of the ice making tray110 to dispense water to the ice making cells 112. A water supply pipe160 is installed above the water dispense cup 200. The water supply pipe160 extends from the refrigerator body 10 to the storage compartmentdoor 30 and an end portion of the water supply pipe 160 is exposed outof the storage compartment door 30 and extends into the water dispensecup 200.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the water dispense cup 200 has asubstantially box shape and is integrally formed with the ice makingtray 110 at the upper edge portion of one side wall of the ice makingtray 110. In addition, the water dispense cup 200 is made from aluminum,which is identical to the material for the ice making tray 110, suchthat heat generated from the heater 130 installed between the ice makingtray 110 can be easily transferred to the water dispense cup 200. Thewater dispense cup 200 prevents water discharged from the water supplypipe 160 from being splashed in various directions. Water remaining inthe tip of the water supply pipe 160 may be dropped into the waterdispense cup 200 so that ice may be formed in the water dispense cup 200after the water has been supplied into the ice maker 100. However,according to the present invention, heat of the heater 130 istransferred to the water dispense cup 200 so that the ice formed in thewater dispense cup 200 can be melted.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the waterdispense cup 200 is integrally formed with the ice making tray 110.However, the present invention is not limited thereto. According toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.6, the ice making tray 110 can be prepared separately from the waterdispense cup 200. In this case, the ice making tray 110 is coupled withthe water dispense cup 200 by using a coupling member (not shown).

An upper surface of the water dispense cup 200 is open to receive thewater from the water supply pipe 160. In addition, a cavity is formed inthe water dispense cup 200 to temporarily store the water supplied fromthe water supply pipe 160 and a water outlet port 201 is formed at oneside of the water dispense cup 200. The water outlet port 201communicates with the ice making cells 112 such that the water containedin the water dispense cup 200 can be introduced into the ice makingcells 112. According to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the water outlet port 201 is formed at a rear portion of theice making tray 110. However, the present invention is not limitedthereto. According to another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the water outlet port 201 can be formed at a lateral portionor a front portion of the ice making tray 110.

A partition wall 203 is provided in the water dispense cup 200 toprevent water supplied from the water supply pipe 160 from beingdirectly introduced into the water outlet port 201. That is, thepartition wall 203 includes a water guide section 210 that extends fromone sidewall of the water dispense cup 200, which is opposite to thewater supply pipe 160, toward the water supply pipe 160 to guide thewater supplied from the water supply pipe 160 into a region locatedbelow the tip of the water supply pipe 160, and a water dischargesection 215 for discharging the water supplied from the water guidesection 210 toward the water outlet port 201. A communication path 205is provided between the water guide section 210 and the water dischargesection 215.

The bottom surface of the water dispense cup 200 is inclined such thatthe water supplied from the water supply pipe 160 can be completelyintroduced into the ice making cells 112.

That is, the water guide section 210 includes a first inclinationsurface 211, which is inclined toward the rear portion of the waterdispense cup 200 such that the water supplied from the water supply pipe160 can be guided toward the region below the water supply pipe 160, anda second inclination surface 213, which is inclined from the right tothe left of the water dispense cup 200 such that the water introducedthrough the first inclination surface 211 can be directed toward thecommunication path 205. In addition, the water discharge section 215includes a third inclination surface 217, which is inclined from therear portion of the water dispense cup 200 toward the water outlet port201 such that the water introduced through the second inclinationsurface 213 can be directed toward the water outlet port 201. Therefore,the water supplied from the water supply pipe 160 may flow through thefirst to third inclination surfaces 211, 213 and 217 formed at thebottom surface of the water dispense cup 200, so that the water may notbe collected in the water dispense cup 200.

In addition, the water supply pipe 160, which extends into the waterdispense cup 200, is located above the second inclination surface 213 ofthe water dispense cup 200. In this case, even if the water remaining inthe tip of the water supply pipe 160 is dropped onto the secondinclination surface 213 of the water dispense cup 200 after the waterhas been supplied to the ice maker 100, the water may flow to the wateroutlet port 201 through the second and third inclination surfaces 213and 217. In addition, even if the second inclination surface 213 isfrozen due to the cold air, since the water supplied from the watersupply pipe 160 is introduced into the second inclination surface 213through the first inclination surface 213, ice or pieces of iceaccumulated on the second inclination surface 213 can be dischargedtogether with the water, so that ice or pieces of ice can be preventedfrom being accumulated in the water dispense cup 200.

FIG. 7 shows a water dispense cup coupled with the ice making trayaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the water outlet port 201 of the water dispense cup200 is formed at the lateral side of the ice making tray 110.

The water dispense cup 200 is fabricated through an injection moldingprocess by using plastic material and is coupled to the lateral side ofthe ice making tray 110. In addition, the water dispense cup 200 can bemade from metal having superior heat conductivity and can be integrallyformed with the ice making tray 110.

Only the water guide section 210 is formed in the water dispense cup 200to guide the water supplied from the water supply pipe 160 to the wateroutlet port 201.

The water guide section 210 includes a first inclination surface 211,which is inclined from the front portion to the rear portion of thewater dispense cup 200 to guide the water supplied from the water supplypipe 160 toward the region below the water supply pipe 160, and a secondinclination surface 213, which is inclined from the right to the left ofthe water dispense cup 200 such that the water introduced through thefirst inclination surface 211 can be directed to the water outlet port201 formed at the lateral side of the water dispense cup 200.

The water supply pipe 160 is located above the second inclinationsurface 213 in adjacent to the left part of the water dispense cup 200.Thus, as indicated by an arrow, the water supplied from the water supplypipe 160 flows along the right part of the first inclination surface211. Then, the water flows from the right part to the left part of thesecond inclination surface 213, so that ice or ice pieces formed on thewater dispense cup 200 due to the water dropped onto the water dispensecup 200 from the water supply pipe 160 can be discharged together withthe water. Thus, ice or ice pieces can be prevented from beingaccumulated in the water dispense cup 200.

Although few exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat changes may be made in these exemplary embodiments withoutdeparting from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope ofwhich is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator comprising: a storage compartment;a storage compartment door to open/close the storage compartment; and anice maker including an ice making tray to produce ice pieces, and awater dispense cup having a water outlet port to dispense water suppliedfrom a water supply pipe to the ice making tray, wherein the waterdispense cup includes a water guide section formed within the waterdispense cup and configured to guide the water, which is supplied fromthe water supply pipe, to make a U-turn within the water guide sectionbefore flowing to a water discharge section below the water supply pipe,for discharging the water supplied from the water guide section towardthe water outlet port, and wherein the water guide section includes afirst inclination surface, which is inclined to guide the water suppliedfrom the water supply pipe toward the water discharge section below thewater supply pipe, a second inclination surface, which is inclined toallow the water introduced through the first inclination surface to bedirected toward a communication path, and third inclination surface,which is inclined from a rear portion of the water dispense cup towardthe water outlet port of the water dispense cup to allow water suppliedto the second inclination surface to be directed toward the water outletport of the water dispense cup.
 2. The refrigerator as claimed in claim1, wherein the ice maker further includes a heater to heat the icemaking tray.
 3. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the icemaking tray and the water dispense cup are made of metal material,wherein the ice maker further includes a heater to heat the ice makingtray and the water dispense cup.
 4. The refrigerator as claimed in claim1, wherein the ice making tray is integrally formed with the waterdispense cup, wherein the ice maker further includes a heater to heatthe ice making tray and the water dispense cup made of metal material.5. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ice maker heatsthe water dispense cup by using heat of the heater that is operated whenice pieces are separated from the ice making tray.
 6. The refrigeratoras claimed in claim 1, wherein a partition wall is provided in the waterdispense cup to partition an inner space of the water dispense cup intothe water guide section and the water discharge section.
 7. An ice makercomprising: an ice making tray for producing ice pieces; and a waterdispense cup having a water outlet port to dispense water to the icemaking tray, wherein a partition wall is provided in the water dispensecup to prevent water supplied from a water supply pipe from beingdirectly introduced into a water outlet port of the water dispense cup,wherein the water dispense cup includes a water guide section formedwithin the water dispense cup and configured to guide the water, whichis supplied from the water supply pipe, to make a U-turn within thewater guide section before flowing to a water discharge section belowthe water supply pipe, for discharging the water supplied from the waterguide section toward the water outlet port, and wherein the water guidesection includes a first inclination surface, which is inclined to guidethe water supplied from the water supply pipe toward the water dischargesection below the water supply pipe, a second inclination surface, whichis inclined to allow the water introduced through the first inclinationsurface to be directed toward a communication path, and thirdinclination surface, which is inclined from a rear portion of the waterdispense cup toward the water outlet port of the water dispense cup toallow water supplied to the second inclination surface to be directedtoward the water outlet port of the water dispense cup.
 8. The ice makeras claimed in claim 7, further comprising a heater to heat the icemaking tray.
 9. The ice maker as claimed in claim 8, wherein the icemaker heats the water dispense cup by using heat of the heater that isoperated when ice pieces are separated from the ice making tray.
 10. Theice maker as claimed in claim 7, wherein the ice making tray and thewater dispense cup are made of a metal material and the ice making trayis integrally formed with the water dispense cup, wherein the ice makerfurther includes a heater to heat the ice making tray and the waterdispense cup.
 11. A refrigerator comprising: a storage compartment; astorage compartment door to open/close the storage compartment; a watersupply pipe protruding from the storage compartment door; and an icemaker including an ice making tray including metal having superior heatconductivity, a heater to heat the ice making tray, and a water dispensecup having a water outlet port to dispense water supplied from the watersupply pipe to the ice making tray, wherein a partition wall is providedin the water dispense cup to prevent water supplied from the watersupply pipe from being directly introduced into a water outlet port ofthe water dispense cup, wherein the water dispense cup is made of ametal material, wherein the water dispense cup includes a water guidesection formed within the water dispense cup and configured to guide thewater, which is supplied from the water supply pipe, to make a U-turnwithin the water guide section before flowing to a water dischargesection below the water supply pipe, for discharging the water suppliedfrom the water guide section toward the water outlet port, and whereinthe water guide section includes a first inclination surface, which isinclined to guide the water supplied from the water supply pipe towardthe water discharge section below the water supply pipe, a secondinclination surface, which is inclined to allow the water introducedthrough the first inclination surface to be directed toward acommunication path, and third inclination surface, which is inclinedfrom a rear portion of the water dispense cup toward the water outletport of the water dispense cup to allow water supplied to the secondinclination surface to be directed toward the water outlet port of thewater dispense cup.
 12. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 11, whereinthe ice making tray is integrally formed with the water dispense cup.